Following up on the previous post, here's a report on what we did yesterday evening. We're not going to give a blow-by-blow account of our sessions in general, but just this once it might be interesting to describe exactly what we did; maybe it will provoke some comments making comparisons...

For a while now we've had two regular but separate handbell bands at 1 Albany Quadrant: our original 8-bell band with Jonathan and Angela, and our more recent 6-bell band with Josy. We also practise with our son Thomas whenever we can.

We've been thinking about how to arrange...

Handbell ringers often choose compositions that are designed for handbells, which usually means that a particular pair of bells rings a limited range of positions. For example, 3-4 might be coursing all (or almost all) the time; or perhaps 5-6 might ring only the coursing and 5-6 positions, and never...

Sometimes you are really ready for a handbell session:  you have done your homework, you managed somehow to leave work on time, you feel fed, relaxed and focused.  When does that ever happen?

Certainly not last night: one of those slightly crazed evenings where nothing quite went to plan, and...

After our successful and unproblematic peal of 4-spliced with Julia, we had a sharp reminder that we really do have a lot of ground to cover to be as competent as we want to be.  Frankly, there is nothing like a bit of minor ringing to really bring the...

The whole of the ringing community has been coming to terms in various ways to the untimely death of Alison Regan.  As the ringing tributes come in, it is clear that she was one of those people who 'influenced a generation', even those who hardly knew her.

She is perhaps...

Some activities are much easier than others to start learning. On holiday in the Isles of Scilly with my sister and her family, the children tried various watersports. Kayaking and sailing are easy to get started on, because you sit in a stable boat and if you do absolutely nothing...

Two things happen during Simon's family reunions:  handbells and croquet (and latterly, some yoga).  We thought we'd share this bucolic image of just about our last handbell ringing before we disappear on holiday, with some rare sunshine.

It's Mobel for us for a spell then, or maybe we just won't...

You spend ages not ringing at all, then several nights come on you at once.  Last night reunited our original foursome, after a long stint of work-related and holiday-related absence.  It had been a while, so the plans were relaxed, and eventually, wine-soaked.

We reviewed some of our methods...

Last night we had a casual handbell session with Josy, which we organised completely at the last minute (the idea of organising anything at the last minute is an immense novelty in our household).

It was a good thing to do because Simon was getting antsy for lack of handbell...